Improvement in corpse-preserving cases



UNITED STATES PATENrOFFICE.

ionnnon seAnINGJor-MonnrstroWN, NEwJEnsEYl IMPROVEMENT 1N' COR-PS ,E-PRESERVVING CASES.

Specification forming part of Letters' Patent No1 45,349, dated December 6, i864.'

To all whom may concern;`

Be it known that I, ICHABOD ASllARrNGr of Morristown, Morris county, State of Nzew l Jersey, have invented a new and Improved through the center of my improved,` preserv-A ing-case. 1 Fig. '2 is a topview'of the lower section of the case. Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the upper section of the'casev. Fig. 4 is a Jtransverse section through Fig. 1, taken in the`vertica1 plane indicated 'by red 4line y y.

Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section taken at the point indicated byred-liue ww, Fig. 1.

` vSimilar letters of reference indicate correspondin g parts inthe several rigores.

. The objectof this invention is to arrest the decomposition of a corpse for Several days after death by inclosing the body within a double or many walled case or chamber, bef tween the walls of which cooled currents of air are caused to circulate, as will be hereinafter described.

Another object of my invention is to combine with an airitight double'or many walled case a window by which the face ot' the inolosed corpse can be seen at pleasure, as will be hereinafter described. To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, l will describe its construction and operation.

Thev most common mode adopted for temporarily preserving a deadbody from decomposition has been to place the body in an airtight box and dto surround it with ice applied directly to the body. An improvement on y this plan of packing a body in ice was made by which the effects of the ice were partially obtainedwithout a direct application of it to the person, and consistedinan archedfnottom ice-box placed direct-1y over the upper portion of the body when lying upon a cooling-board. A less objectionablev plan than this consisted of a box or body cham ber having for its cover or top an ice-receptacle, from which the cold air descended upon the body, and thus kept it cool. It will be seen that a perfect refrigeration of the body is not obtained by any of these plan s, as the principles of circulation and l' desiceation are not carried out, the result bueing that the Jbody is more or less exposed to i the two principal causes ot' air and moisture..

/ My improved portable corpse-preserving decompositionordinary woodln` or metallic co'm, These parts-' the body A and the top or vcover B- should be provided with means by which they canbe readily put togethenand hermetically .sealed. x YThis may be done in a variety of4 the 'edges or joints, and wedge-Iastenings,

clamps, 85e., for drawingand holding -the two The'body of the preserver is constructed/.with treblewall'sidesuand parts together.

double-'wall bottom.- Theinner walls, a a a, form the Vsides and bottom ofthe body-chamber C, the outerwalls, b b b, form the sides and bottom of the arcirculatingchambers,

duct the cold air downward to the bottom of through the side holes, d (Shown'in Figs. 4

and 4.) 1f desirable, the intermediate divisions, c c, may be carried under the bottom of the body-chamber O, and a central opening left forations e e e, through which the' cold air entersthe spaces between the walls of the box A, as indicated by theconrse of the arrows in Figs. 4 and 5. The upper part or cover, B, ofthe box A is constructed with double-wall sides f f, inclosing aspace, j", and,if desirable, a double-walled top may be made. The doublewall sides of this top extend from end to end of the same, and these sides, together with the arched bottom Eand inclined top wall,F,and the 'end or head-plate, E', inclose a chamber, G, which is supplied with ice through the opening in its top; (Shownin Figaland 5.) The inner walls, f f, are perforated at g g g, Figs. 1 and 5,"through which perforations the cold air escapes from the ice-chamber Giuto the thence descends through theperforations I i into the side chambers of case is composed chiefly of two parts, A and B, which maybe constructed in the form Aof an lways, such, for instance, as fthe introduction of india-rubber packing, cloth, &c.,-between` and the vertical walls c c are used' to con` the air-chamber, and thence upward and out the box A'. The'ice-box G- extends from the foot of the -preserver to within several 'inches of the head or opposite vend vthereof,

`where it is closed.v by the plate or board EQ above mentioned. This leavesan opening, H, through the cover, which is tightly closed by a glass win'doWJ,Y and,.if desirable; the latter may be covered by means of the hingeddoor J. (Shown in Fig; 1.)

From .this descriptionv it will'beseen thatVw when the two parts A and B ofthe preserverl-` areproperly secured, together and ice .putinto thefchainber, G the :cold air will escape Vvfrom thisfchm'nber into' f-; lthence pass down and 'circulate between the wallslof. the lower por# I 'tion of the box Aandnally'escape at the si'de openings at or near the top.ot this boxA into the open air. The air isgadmitted i'n-tol vthe,ioechamber Gr through an opening, p,

(shown in Figs. 1 and 4,).and the water from this icechalnber escapes through the pipes.

The airiwhich enters the ychamber `(Jl passes.' over the. ice 'thereinIv and is consequently. rapidly cooled anddeprivedv ofitsnioist-ure 'tqaalarge extent before it enters-thecham-- bers'inclosed by thedouble walls. f yThe, b ody'` chamber C', or that portion .of thecase lin which thecorpse'is tightlycon'fined; is entirely slinjoqnded by a, doub1e-wal1- aixcircl1latng chamber, and the intermediate plates or walls `Patent.. is-

' 1'. Whilenotelain'xing, broadly, the use oan icebox constructed and arranged so as to form arefrigeratingltop for the body-chamber C, I doclaimthe combinationof suchybox, top,

which are between thesiderva'll's of. the box A are intendedasa means for causingthe cold air to pass down to the.bottom of the' box before it can escape therefrom, and subiecting the sides and bottom of .the chamber C to the coolingeects of th'e air issuing from theicechamber.'

. .H-aving thus described my invention, whatv I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters or cover with the' bodyfchamber' C, when the whole are so constructed that the air entering the ice-box will be conducted down the sides of the hotly-chamber and allowedvto escape through` ythe outer wall' thereof, substantially as described.

2.l Providingthe double-wall chamber C, or l the spaces between the Wallsthereof, with' di- 

